The Foreign Policy Fault Lines that Defined Australia’s Federal Election

Sarah Myatt | Australian Foreign Policy Fellow

Image sourced from David Redfearn via Flickr.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s resounding victory in the recent 2025 election has been widely interpreted as a mandate for centrist pragmatism and a rejection of extreme paths, including in the realm of foreign policy. Many have read the election outcome as simply a rejection of Trump-style politics. However, many issues including Trump’s imposition of tariffs, ongoing support for Ukraine, the war in Gaza, and the future of Australia’s strategic partnerships all played a significant part in electoral discourse. 

Previously, foreign policy issues have become increasingly marginal inclusions in campaign speeches and debates. It has only been the most mainstream and large-scale of events – the Vietnam War or fears around terrorism in the 2001 election – which have been able to permeate Australian electoral discourse and break its characteristic tradition of foreign policy bipartisanship. Yet many global issues drew prominence in 2025. 

Trump’s global imposition of sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs, including a 10 per cent tariff on Australian goods saw the Australian election begin to shift. In a trend exemplified by Mark Carney's extraordinary victory in the Canadian election, only days before Australians headed to the polls, voters seemingly began to favour centre-left incumbent parties to defend their nation against the spread of Trumpism. The Coalition, traditionally more closely aligned with United States Republican administrations, struggled with the contradictions of occasionally embracing Trump-style culture wars. Labor campaign material painted the Opposition as out of touch with Australian values, capitalising on incidents such as an image of Jacinta Price wearing a MAGA cap. 

Overall, public trust in the US as a reliable global partner eroded throughout Australian electorates, with two-thirds of Australians expressing scepticism about the alliance. Minor parties like the Greens seized on this lack of trust to renew debates about the AUKUS alliance. Albanese now faces the delicate task of navigating an important alliance with a deeply unpredictable leader, as foreign policy discussions from the election continue in his second term as Prime Minister.

The invasion of Ukraine and recurrent global instability also brought international issues to the fore in the Australian election. The ability of leaders to stabilise Australia amid heightened global tensions became a key point of contention. The Albanese government highlighted its strong support for Ukraine, including over AUD$1.5 billion in aid and extensive sanctions on Russia. On this issue, bipartisanship largely prevailed, with the Opposition Leader taking aim at President Trump over support for Ukraine. Thus, foreign policy has come not only featured in policy debates, but in the settling of Australia’s bipartisan core principles and values. 

The ongoing war in Gaza made the most prominent impact in Australia, from early in the campaign. The conflict strained social cohesion and heightened tensions within Australia’s Muslim and Jewish communities, both of which were concentrated in electorates crucial to Labor maintaining government. A powerful combination of religious identity, demography, and electoral boundaries unavoidably shaped federal election campaigns.

Both major parties committed to a two-state solution in the Middle East. The Liberal-National Coalition campaigned strongly on support for Israel and its security, seeking to attract disaffected Jewish voters. Meanwhile, Labor sought to balance its position by both calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and supporting Israel’s right to self-defence, as this foreign policy issue loomed large in key seats. Greens embraced campaigning on an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel, gaining traction with voters dissatisfied with the establishment stance. 

Australia’s around 650,000 voting-age Muslims, are generally considered to be reliable Labor voters. Yet many expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s perceived lack of advocacy for Palestinians, which manifested in organised campaigns such as Muslim Votes Matter. These groups encouraged voters to preference independents and third parties above Labor in 32 seats, showcasing the importance of parties’ foreign policy stances for Australian voters. Campaigning consequently intensified in seats with high Muslim populations, such as Blaxland and Wills. Although Greens and other challenger candidates in these seats were largely unsuccessful, they drew significant primary vote results which Labor will not be able to ignore.  

Jewish voters, many personally impacted by the October 7 attacks and rising antisemitism in Australia, also played a decisive role. Totalling 100,000 nationally, Jewish Australians make up a sizeable minority in only 4 federal electorates. Many of these are Teal-held, affluent inner-city electorates, whose elected members criticised insufficient action on antisemitism. Yet ultimately, the perception of Jewish voters as a reliably conservative group was inaccurate, with all but one Teal independent returned to parliament, and prominent Jewish Labor member Josh Burns receiving bolstered support in Macnamara. As the conflict continues, Albanese’s government will be expected to navigate their trajectory toward a two-state solution. 

The growing significance of foreign policy in this past election shows that the challenge lying ahead of Albanese, and his foreign minister Penny Wong, is complex and great. They must carefully balance security ties with the US, against the need to manage a critical economic relationship with an increasingly assertive China. At the same time, Australia is being called on to take moral stances on conflicts around the world by voters of many persuasions. Its regional role is also taking shape, as Australia steps up engagement in the Pacific amid a less predictable global order. The election result ultimately signals continuity in a pragmatic approach to global affairs, while underscoring the growing imperative for nuanced, adaptive diplomacy as the nation confronts an era of heightened geopolitical risk and uncertainty.

Sarah is an emerging voice in Australian international relations and public policy. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Economics and Political and International Studies at the University of Melbourne. A highly accomplished student, she has had her academic work published in peer-reviewed journals and was recently the winner of Queens College's Foreign Affairs Competition.